GOP Who's Who: Ron Paul

Come on down, Ron Paul.

Paul has been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1776 1976. He is currently the Representative of Texas’s 14 District and has been in that post since 1997. 2012 is Paul’s third attempt to become the President, his first coming as a Libertarian in 1988 and more recently, in 2008, as a Republican.

Paul is widely regarded as an outspoken critic of American foreign policy as well as its monetary policies. He has been referred do as the “intellectual godfather of the Tea Party,” a highly publicized and criticized Libertarian-based party.

The New York Times believes Paul’s main challenge as winning over Tea Party conservatives that may be concerned with Paul’s desire to scale back the United States military presence abroad. There is also concern the Tea Party movement’s fiscal issues may not be well supported in a Presidential campaign. Paul has also spent the second most money in his campaign, trailing only Mitt Romney.

I believe that Paul is truly a long shot in the race for the GOP nomination, and the numbers support it. Heading into ‘Super Tuesday,‘ Paul is fourth in the delegate count with only 18, trailing the leader, Romney, by 132. (1144 delegates are needed to win the nomination; 2002 delegates remain)

Paul, further confirming his outspoken nature, has held nothing back in his campaign ads. This ad that attacks all three of his competitors.

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GOP Who's Who: Rick Santorum

The first four entries of this blog will serve as a “who’s who” in the race for the Republican nomination for President. The GOP candidates are Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. After much deliberation on which order to profile the candidates, I decided to go in reverse alphabetical order (for absolutely no reason). I

First up, Rick Santorum.

Santorum has not been in public office since January of 2007, when his second term as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania ended. Before being a Senator, Santorum got his start in public office in 2000, at age 32, when he was elected to the House of Representatives. Since 2007 Santorum help two jobs in the media, as a columnist for the Philadelphia Enquirer and a commentator on Fox News. Santorum announced that he would be running for the Republican nomination on June 6, 2011.

According to the New York Times, Santorum will not have an easy time winning the GOP nomination, citing his lack of name recognition beyond Pennsylvania and his struggle to connect with independent voters as his biggest challenges.

His “staunchly conservative” voting record and views on the war in Iraq and same sex marriage have been highly scrutinized by both Republicans and Democrats.

I believe Santorum will have a hard time getting the support of socially liberal voters. His hard stance again same sex marriage will alienate people who want a candidate that is open minded on social issues. Santorum may also face an uphill battle with voters who are concerned with a candidate who does not currently serve in public office.

Photo from here.